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How to build your technical portfolio with no experience

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Starting a tech career

Apr 27 2023 | Career

Starting a career in tech can be overwhelming, some days you might feel like giving up or even question yourself for threading that part.

Here is what you should know: It's not the hardest thing to do. It is not the hardest thing to do.

Tech can be competitive, but it's rewarding. You can get to stand out when you leverage on your strength. Many intending techies have other skill sets which stemmed from their past experiences or work.

While transitioning or building your portfolio for a new role, it's advisable to examine yourself, learn your weakness and strength, the dos and don't. It’s advisable not to quit your career while transitioning into tech if you don’t want to face low-paying internships and unhealthy career blocks.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

For software engineers and developers, a fancy portfolio is critical to their success. Other tracks, like project management, product management, and a few no-code areas, determine your analytical, problem-solving, and top-notch management skills.

As a newbie, to stand out to a tech recruiter, you must show unmatched talent, skills, and a strong portfolio. This article focuses on what to do to land your first tech role.

1. Be ready to do the work: Writing a few lines of Javascript or React doesn’t guarantee maximum success. Most techies invest in years of resilient practice, self-development, and personal projects. If you do these things, there’s always a place for you.

2. Sign up For Boot Camps. Paid or free boot camps and other personalized short courses are great ways to break into tech. The fact is, they give you a workload similar to your first work experience and position you to thrive in a work situation.

3. Internships: An internship improves your prospects when you’re looking for a permanent job. Interning in whatever tech role can give you first-hand experience and an opportunity to learn from industry leaders while gravitating towards your goals.

4. Self-Projects: Just DIY! This may sound demanding, and yes, it is. There are tons of YouTube resources for beginners, personal projects to test the waters, and millions of resources on the internet to learn from. Give them a shot. Cloning projects should focus on growth.

5. Join Tech Communities: As a member of the tech community, you are more likely to get your first job offer through referrals. Tech communities offer newbies the opportunity to volunteer, collaborate, ask questions, and get access to free tech events. Meaningful networks are fail-proof.

6. Build Simple Landing Pages: For core tech roles like programming and web development, hiring managers prefer to see links to their work. Designing a simple but catchy landing page can get you through the door. Don’t underestimate this.

7. Showcase Your Work: As you gather training and reach new milestones, always update your social profiles, especially on LinkedIn. Tons of recruiters are constantly looking to fill tech roles with fresh talents. Do not forget to connect with tech leaders and, most importantly, optimize the use of your GitHub profile. Open source shows recruiters that you enjoy collaborating on open-source projects.

When you get the skills, keep practicing. Get your audience familiar with what you do. Take on some free or underpaid projects for friends and colleagues; it will add to your portfolio.

photo credit: yandex